Among the beloved by many Soviet animated films, a special place is occupied by the story of the crocodile Gene and Cheburashka. The main negative character, trying in every possible way to harm faithful friends, was the old woman Shapoklyak.
Character Creation History
The brilliant and harmful old woman came up with a wonderful children's writer and great inventor Eduard Uspensky. Crocodile Gena and Cheburashka needed an antagonist - this is how the old woman Shapoklyak was born (a photo of the character can be seen further). Why did the innocent-looking old woman become a negative hero ? Ouspensky in an interview himself answered this question. According to him, the prototype of this character was his first wife, Rimma, with whom he lived for 18 years. He called her a "mischievous citizen," but remarked that she did not know that she had become the prototype of a dirty old woman.
She owes her unusual name to a men's headdress with a similar name. This is a kind of cylinder that could be folded by hitting it from above.
The old woman Shapoklyak appears in four stories written by the writer about the adventures of Gena and Cheburashka. But the real fame to the characters of these books came after the film adaptation of the works of Ouspensky.
In 1969, the first cartoon about the unusual adventures of the crocodile Gena and Cheburashka was released. In it, viewers saw for the first time the malicious old woman Shapoklyak, who was trying by all means to harm positive characters.
The artist Leonid Schwartzman, who worked on the image of a malicious old woman, puzzled for a long time over how it should look. He decided to make a start on behalf of the character. "Shapoklyak" - an old hat, originally from the XIX century. So, the old woman should dress in the fashion of those years - in a dark outfit decorated with cuffs and frills. A rumpled hat-cap cylinder flaunted on his head. Since she is a mischievous sneak, Schwartzman awarded her a long nose. The most interesting thing is that the artist’s mother-in-law was also from those distant years. He drew the character a bunch of gray hair, cheeks, like a mother-in-law's and surprised eyes. So the well-known antagonist Cheburashka and Genes appeared.
Occupations of the old woman Shapoklyak
She set herself the task of doing five evil deeds a day to become famous. Crossing the roadway in the wrong place, poured water over passers-by, shot pigeons from a slingshot, shook out garbage from ballot boxes and scared residents of houses with shots from a scarecrow. But still, there is something good in it. Each meeting of Shapoklyak and the crocodile Gena with Cheburashka ended up being able to re-educate the evil old woman. True, she did not last long to do good deeds, and she pretty quickly took on the old.
It is interesting - who was the best friend of the old woman Shapoklyak?
Character, mischievous and absurd, did not allow her to be friends with anyone. Other old women were afraid of her and avoided her. But still she had a faithful and devoted friend - the rat Lariska, which Shapoklyak wore in her reticule. Lariska was the companion of the old woman in her dirty tricks. Unlike the crocodile Gena who was talking, girlfriend Shapoklyak was always silent.
Who voiced the old woman Shapoklyak in cartoons?
In the scoring of this character was attended by three actors. In the first cartoon, released in 1969, Shapoklyak speaks in the voice of Vladimir Roubart. In 1974, the cartoon "Shapoklyak" was released. The old woman was voiced by Irina Masing. In 1983, the cartoon “Cheburashka goes to school” was released. In it, Shapoklyak speaks in the voice of Yuri Andreev.
Monument to favorite cartoon characters
In recent years, a remarkable tradition has appeared in Russian cities - to erect unusual monuments, including the favorite characters of children's cartoons. Crocodile Gena, Cheburashka and old woman Shapoklyak are also immortalized on the streets of Russian cities. One of these monuments stands in the city of Prokopyevsk. A separate monument to the old woman Shapoklyak and her faithful companion rat Lariska is installed in Saransk. There is a monument to your favorite cartoon characters in the city of Ramenskoye. Old woman Shapoklyak with Lariska can be seen in Khabarovsk.
Cartoons about the crocodile Gena and Cheburashka are among the iconic animated films. Continuing to remain relevant, they are interesting to young viewers now. The good deeds of Genes and Cheburashka and the antics of the malicious, but so charming Shapoklyak are so clear to the kids.